Smith’s comments came after Trump’s free-wheeling press conference on Thursday afternoon, during which the president repeatedly sparred with reporters and accused the media of treating his administration unfairly. While Trump said he had no contact with Russian officials during the campaign, he did not respond directly to questions posed by Acosta and other reporters concerning whether any of his advisers had.

“It’s crazy what we’re watching everyday. It’s absolutely crazy,” Smith said. “He keeps repeating ridiculous throwaway lines that are not true at all and sort of avoiding this issue of Russia as if we’re some kind of fools for asking the question.”

Turning to face the camera head-on, Smith addressed Trump directly, “We are not fools for asking this question and we demand to know the answer to this question. You owe this to the American people,” he said. “If your people were on the phone with [the Russians], what were they saying? We have a right to know … The people deserve that answer, at very least.”